The Landing of HRH The Princess Alexandra at Gravesend, 7th March 1863, by Henry Nelson O'Neil. 1864. Oil on canvas, 52 in. x 84 in. (1321 mm x 2134 mm). Courtesy © National Portrait Gallery, London. Purchased, 1982. NPG 5487.
Among the many sitters here are the future Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), who would marry the Prince of Wales in a few day's time, on 10 March 1863. Arm in arm with her, conducting her over a pier being strewn with primroses by the squad of girls assembled to welcome her, is the Prince of Wales himself. Present in the arrival group are the princess's father, Christian IX of Denmark; her mother, Queen Louise of Denmark; and her brothers, who would become King Frederick VIII of Denmark, and (in 1863 itself) King George I of Greece. O'Neil has included his own likeness: he can be seen just to the right of the man doffing his hat at the back of this group.
It was a big commission for O'Neil and a very joyous occasion for all, when the Queen would drop her usual rule for the royal family to wear mourning attire. Many years later Cissie Panton, née Frith, one of William Powell Frith's daughters, would complain about the flower girls' costumes. She remembered sitting for one of them, wearing the "a much be-crinolined white muslin, a red cloak, and a species of mushroom hat.... The hideous and unsuitable costume for a bitterly cold March day had been selected by the Queen as being typically English..." (Panton 103). Nevertheless, the painting was shown to acclaim at the Royal Academy in the summer of 1864. Blackwood's reviewer called it, rather amusingly, "a cheerful, pleasing picture, to be commended especially for the full-length figure of the Prince, supremely gentlemanly in bearing, which, considering the pictorial parodies to which Royalty has to submit, is saying a great deal" (96). — Jacqueline Banerjee
Links to related material
- Tennyson's Sea King's Daughter from over the sea, Alexandra
- W. H. Russell's A Memorial of the the Marriage of H.R.H. Albert Prince of Wales and H.R.H. Alexandra Princess of Denmark, 1864
- Princess Alexandra, by Mary Thornycroft
- The Princess Christian (Princess Alexandra) by Susan Durant
- Alexandra, Princess of Wales, by Matthew Noble
- Review of Jane Ridley's Bertie: A Life of Edward VII
Bibliography
"The London Art-Season." Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 96 (1864): 84-102. Google Books. Free to read.
Created 31 December 2022